WHO: Mass Liberation Arizona, attorneys, directly impacted protesters, and community groups

WHEN: Friday, June 11, 2021

WHERE: Maricopa County Superior Court – South Court Tower 175 W. Madison Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003

WHAT: Press conference with attorneys and protesters to announce the complete dismissal, with prejudice, of the October 17, 2020 protest cases (CR 2020-139581 et al) where Maricopa County Attorney’s Office fabricated street gang charges.  The community demands Maricopa County Attorney, Allister Adel, resign from office and will call for disbarment. 

After months of public pressure, and a scathing ruling from Judge Jennifer Ryan-Touhill, prosecutor Ryan Green, filed a motion with the court to dismiss the cases with prejudice. In her ruling, Judge Ryan-Touhill outright names collusion between PPD officer Doug McBride and MCAO prosecutor April Sponsel; a fact MCAO does not deny. The motion to dismiss was filed early this morning, hours before a hearing where defense attorney,  Kathy Brody, joined by attorneys for 8 other defendants, were set to give a 12 minute presentation outlining the pattern of outright lies and collusion between MCAO and Phoenix PD. A pattern that can be seen over the course of many years, including the same members of law enforcement. 

This development, in a case MCAO claimed to be an extremely violent protest, not only confirms that MCAO does not have a single shred of evidence against the very same protesters police testified under oath were more dangerous than the Crips and Bloods; it undermines every single case MCAO brought against protesters from the summer. The fact that MCAO has not dismissed every protest case, on its own, despite mounds of evidence that the charges are false, signals MCAO’s reckless indifference to the actual law and the people harmed by its egregious abuse of power. MCAO prosecutors know they have false evidence in cases, yet they pursue cases anyway. Therefore every single protest case that has been touched by these prosecutors or members of law enforcement must be dismissed with prejudice. And any case unrelated to protests in which these prosecutors or members of law enforcement participated, must be reviewed and retried. 

Today community members will demand Allister Adel resign and are calling to have her disbarred. If she does not resign, voters will recall her.